Iron in Vegetarian Diet

Vegetarians need more iron in their diets than non-vegetarians because the iron in plant foods is not absorbed as efficiently as the iron in meat.

Food has two types of iron: heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is found in meat, fish and poultry, and is the form of iron that is most readily absorbed from your stomach and taken up into your body after you eat it. Non-heme iron is found in plant foods as well as meat. Foods with non-heme iron are still good to eat, but the iron contained in these foods won’t be absorbed as completely as heme iron. Up to 30 percent of heme iron is absorbed by the body while only 2 to 10 percent of non-heme iron is.

Vegetarians can enhance the absorption of iron by drinking citrus juice or eating other foods rich in vitamin C at the same time that they eat high-iron foods.

In addition to iron data, we provide the macronutrient data for each food listed in this vegetarian food database.
To display the hidden nutrient data, click on the appropriate checkboxes in list above.